Topical Treatment with Cord Blood Serum in Glaucoma Patients: A Preliminary Report

Abstract

Purpose To report data which happened to be observed in two glaucoma patients treated with Cord Blood Serum (CBS) eye drops. Design A case report and retrospective data analysis. Methods CBS topical eye drops, characterized in advance for growth factors (GFs) content, were administered for two months with the aim to relieve their subjective symptoms, in two patients who had referred ocular surface discomfort, although in absence of any sign of keratopathy. As patients were also affected by advanced glaucoma at risk of vision loss and under treatment with hypotensive drugs, they had been also monitored over the same period with IOP controls and visual field tests in our unit. Results During subsequent visits, data from Mean Deviation and Pattern Standard Deviation in the visual fields were retrospectively collected and compared with before and after treatment with CBS, and an amelioration was observed. Conclusions CBS contains a combination of GFs, which potentially exert a neuroprotective action and elect CBS as an interesting natural source to be delivered in neurodegenerative ocular disorders. The incidentally observed amelioration in these two patients deserves further investigation in this respect.

Cord Blood Serum (CBS)-Based Eye Drops Modulate Light-Induced Neurodegeneration in Albino Rat Retinas

“…Microglia activation leads to neuroinflammation and the progression of neurodegenerative events. Recently a paper published from our group [13] reports a preliminary observation on two glaucomatous patients, which supports our hypothesis of successful therapy with CBS. The unifying pathophysiology characteristics between glaucoma and AMD are the activation of neuroinflammatory events, which are responsible for the progression of both diseases.…”

“…The possibility exists that according to differential contents of factors, we might select eye drops with targeted efficacy to different neurodegenerative processes and stages of the disease. Clinical observation in glaucoma patients [13] seems to support this hypothesis. Here we report preliminary data showing that treatment with CBS-based eye drops can ameliorate the retinal damage induced by exposure to high-intensity light.…”

“…In our experiments, only a limited number of factors in CBS were determined, which used the original protocol that was developed to be used in corneal epithelial defect treatment. Nevertheless, it has to be noted that CBS with similar tested contents gave promising preliminary results in glaucomatous patients [13]. It remains an open question whether some factors might contribute more efficiently to achieve neuroprotection.…”

Effects of Cord Blood Serum (CBS) on viability of retinal Müller glial cells under in vitro injury

“…medium also meliorates the inflammatory activation, crucial mechanism responsible of the neurodegenerative diseases. These data can offer interesting cues for neuroprotection studies, supporting the results obtained both in animal model [14,15,17] and patients [33], where BDNF and NGF-based eye drops have been tested with beneficial effects on visual field. The survival and protective functions of neurotrophins are mediated by the signaling cascade activated by the Trk receptor.…”

Umbilical Cord Blood and Serum for the Treatment of Ocular Diseases: A Comprehensive Review

“…A preliminary study that analyzed the effect of UCBS topically administered to glaucoma patients observed positive results, as shown by improvements in visual field test parameters. This efficacy is thought to be related to the high growth factor content of the serum, which potentially exerts a neuroprotective action on the optic nerve [45]. However, the authors stated that the incidentally observed amelioration in these glaucoma patients requires further investigation.…”